Global controls are located in the lower part of Rhino user interface, and are visible at all times. They provide a convenient access to the more commonly used parameters.

The eye in the Rhino icon will blink when receiving Midi data. Clicking on the eye acts as a “panic” button, and will turn all notes off and reset the synthesizer internal engine.

• The Current Program box displays the name of the current preset. Left-clicking on this box displays a menu for a quick access to all the presets of the current bank. Right-clicking displays the same menu than the one of the bank area.
• The Main Level slider controls the overall output of Rhino. If the output is too high, the Clip indicator will turn red. Click on it to reset it (and turn the main level down to avoid clipping).
• The Vib. Depth slider selects the amount of vibrato.

• The Voices parameter selects the global, maximum number of voices used internally by Rhino. The program features an advanced note stealing algorithm, making it possible to limit the CPU usage of the instrument, without noticeable artefacts.
  When this parameter is set to 1, Rhino works in monophonic mode. This mode “remembers” the order of notes played, so that releasing a note will re-trigger the note previously played if it is still held. It is then possible to play extremely fast trills by repeatedly playing a note while holding another one.
• The Bend parameter controls the range of pitch bend, in semitones.

Rhino synthesis engine

The signal flow of Rhino is described in the figure to the left. Each note can have up to 6 oscillators . These can be routed through the filter section (which is made of 1 or 2 filters per note) or to the “RAW” output. The filter section output and the “RAW” output are then processed by the global effects section.

Each filter output can be fed back into itself, or into the other filter. It is thus possible to use the filter in parallel or serial mode, depending on the feedback settings. See the Filters section reference for more details.

The Routing Matrix

The Routing Matrix is used to define how the various components (oscillators, filters, …) of the synthesizer interact to make a preset.
The top 6 rows of the matrix define the Frequency Modulation settings. These parameters are best explained using an example, in the picture to the right:

• Oscillator 1 is modulated by Oscillator 2 (with 74% amount)
• Oscillator 2 self-modulates (with 30% amount), but this modulation has been disabled using the right-click button.
• Oscillator 3 is modulated by Oscillator 1 (with 1% amount), Oscillator 2 (with 49% amount) and Oscillator 3 (with 77% amount). Note that Oscillator 3 is self-modulating.
• Oscillator 5 is modulated by Oscillator 6 (with 67% amount) and by the Ring Modulator 2 (AM2).

If you’re familiar with FM theory, the columns are “carriers” and the rows are “modulators”; at a row/column intersection, the value determines the modulation index. This modulation index may also be affected by the FM/Vel and FM/Aft settings in the Vel/Aft window.

The bottom 3 rows define the Output Routing, determining how much of the column output goes to various outputs. In our example:

• Oscillator 1 is going through the “RAW” output (e.g, straight into the effects section while bypassing the filters)
• Oscillator 3 is going (with 40% level) into Filter 1.
• Oscillator 5 is going (with 50% level) into Filter 1 too.

Finally, the 2 columns to the right define the Ring Modulators settings. Each ring modulator has up to 3 inputs. In our example:

• Oscillator 6 is FM-modulated (24%) by Ring Modulator 2 (AM2)
• Ring Modulator 1 (AM1) inputs are OSC1, OSC2 and OSC4.
• Ring Modulator 2 (AM2) inputs are OSC3 and AM1.
• Ring Modulator 2 is sent through Filter 2.

The LIN button at the top left of the matrix is used to select a linear FM scaling model. When disabled, the scaling of FM values is exponential, like in the classic Yamaha FM synthesizers.

You can temporarily disable a matrix routing by right-clicking it. This is very useful to quickly audition the effect of a given oscillator or modulation setting.

User sliders

The 6 User Sliders are located to the bottom right. These sliders control user-defined parameters of the synthesizer. This is very convenient to give quick access to useful parameters of a preset. In addition, since it is possible to assign up to 16 different parameters to the same slider, this feature can be used for crazy automation effects.

The description text associated to a user slider can be edited by right-clicking on it. The procedure to assign a parameter to a user slider is described below:

• Set a parameter to its desired start value.
• Click on the User Learn button to enable it.
• Move your selected parameter to its desired end value
• Move the desired user slider.
• Click on the User Learn button to disable it.

The user control will then control the selected parameter within the defined range. The range can be positive or negative.
You can clear a user slider assignment by using Ctrl- Left Click on the user control text while “user learn” mode is enabled.

Right-clicking on a user slider brings up an editor window, where the assignments for this slider can be fine-tuned.

Automation

Rhino can be automated using either standard VST automation, or MIDI automation. When the Midi Out button is enabled, moving a control on the Rhino interface will send the associated MIDI control change to the host (or, in standalone mode, to the selected MIDI output port).
The procedure to assign a midi controller to an item is described below:

• Click on the Midi Learn button.
• Move your selected item
• Send a midi control from your external controller.

The midi controller will then control the selected item.
You can clear a midi assignment by using Alt- Left Click on the item while “midi learn” mode is enabled.

Other global controls

The Glide button globally enables portamento. Each oscillator can have its own independent glide time, which is set on the oscillator page.